


A Little Motherly Advice

by Crazy_Pairing_Person



Category: XOXO Droplets (Video Game)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Awkward Crush, Bad Jokes, Crushes, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, JB appears at the very end, Jokes, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Possibly Unrequited Love, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 07:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Pairing_Person/pseuds/Crazy_Pairing_Person
Summary: Jeremy mentions his crush to his mom, who (after squealing over her little baby boy's first crush) gives him a bit of advice.You can't choose who you love, but you can choose who you give your heart to.
Relationships: Everett Gray/Jeremy King
Kudos: 1





	A Little Motherly Advice

"Um, Mom?"

Jeremy watched his mom perk up visibly. She dusted off her hands quickly, wiping away the residue from the meal she was making. "Jeremy, sweetie! I wasn't expecting you over for dinner today! We could all go out, if you want. I was making-"

"I'm not staying for dinner," Jeremy mumbled, curling his hands into fists. Breathe in, breathe out. "I, um. I wanted some advice. Kind of."

"Oh, okay! I'm more than happy to give some!" She beamed down at him, bright and kind and everything that Jeremy felt he wasn't. It was a miracle they were related - if she didn't have the same orange eyes as him, he wouldn't believe it. "How can I help, darling?"

Jeremy took in another slow, careful breath. "I, um. I have... Feelings. For someone."

His mother blinked. Her smile froze on her face. She blinked again, and her eyes searched him frantically for any sign of joking. "Um. Sweetie. Are you saying that you...?"

Jeremy internally cringed and said, "I have a crush on someone, yes."

A loud shriek echoed through the King household. On instinct, Jeremy turned and tried to flee the kitchen, but his mom was faster, and grabbed onto him, hugging him close to her chest. "My sweet little baby!" she cried out. "You're growing up so fast!"

"It's just a crush, Mom!" Jeremy retorted, struggling in her grasp. "Let go of me! You've been touching raw meat!"

Thankfully, she let him go, and Jeremy shuddered as he pulled out his hand sanitizer. His mom continued rambling on about how he was growing and how she wanted to meet this person while he scrubbed himself down frantically. Once he was done, he put away the small tube and looked up at her, cutting her off, "Mom. The advice."

"Oh!" She blinked and nodded quickly. "Of course, baby. What did you want to know?"

"Uh, well. What... Should I do?"

She blinked. "You mean, about asking them out?"

Jeremy scrunched up his nose in disgust. "I don't think I should do that. He doesn't like me much." He carefully dropped the masculine pronoun as if it was no big deal. To his relief, his mom seemed to have picked up on the fact that if she reacted, he'd leave right then, with or without his advice.

"If he doesn't like you, why do you like him, baby?"

"I don't know," Jeremy huffed, annoyed. "I just do, I guess? He's kind of cute, I think. And funny, sort of. But he doesn't like me, and he's not nice to me..." He shifted awkwardly. "But I don't like that he doesn't like me. I mean, I have some self-preservation instinct, so I know I shouldn't ask him out, but..." He trailed off and groaned. "I don't know. I just don't like sitting on my feelings like this, because it feels like I'm going to explode. And that sounds terrible."

His mom smiled sweetly down at him, and knelt so that she was eye-level with him. "Sweetie, it sounds to me like you just want to get these feelings off of your chest."

Jeremy gave a non-committal grunt.

"Well, if he doesn't like you much, then I'll say this - you can't choose who you fall for. But you _can_ choose who you give your heart to." She almost reached to place her hands on his shoulders, but stopped herself and lowered them. "You shouldn't tell him how you feel if you think it would hurt you in the end. But you can tell other people, if you trust them. Like me, or your dad, or Pran." She smiled comfortingly. "And one day, if you think maybe he likes you a little more, maybe you can tell him then."

Jeremy thought about this, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip as he glanced to the side. "...I guess that might work."

"Yeah? Well, then, tell me about this boy. What's his name?"

A moment passed in silence. Jeremy gave a slow sigh, and a gentle smile tugged at his lips. "His name is... Everett. Everett Gray."

* * *

The next day, while Jeremy worked in the back of the store, Ms. King approached JB, who was restocking the shelves. She wore an innocent, bright smile on her face as she spoke, "JB, dear, do you know a boy at your school named Everett Gray?"


End file.
